Page 4 of Unyielding (Poplar Springs #3)

FOUR

SHANNON

“ W ould you stop bringing Becca up already?” I fumed at my brother, raking the stall out more vigorously and avoiding looking at him.

“Yes, she’s perfect, and her business is booming, and everyone loves her.

I get it. But she’s not the only other breeder around beside us.

So, why are you subjecting me to the whole six-verse song about how amazing she is? Are you hot for her too?”

“ Whoa there, watch it. You know damn well who has my heart, and I’m not going to let you take potshots at me just because you want to deflect.

Enough.” I turned to see Josh leaning back against the barn wall with crossed arms. Even though he was only a year older than me, he somehow managed to pull off looking every bit the disapproving father figure, glaring at me through narrowed eyes.

Even though we Cafferty siblings all shared the same auburn hair and aquiline noses, Josh was the one who distilled both of our parents’ genes equally.

He had our father’s height and our mother’s quick smile, though it looked like smiling was the last thing he wanted to do at the moment.

“There’s no need to take my head off. Guess I hit a nerve. ”

I threw down the stall fork I’d been using in frustration.

“Yeah, no kidding! We aren’t the only breeders in Colorado.

We aren’t even the only breeders in this tiny town.

There’s us, the Thornes, Becca”—I swallowed down bile—“Flying Aces, the McCalls… I could go on. And yes, Becca is doing well. But I refuse to change the way I run my program just because the holy, sainted Becca is making more money doing horse breeding her way. We’re doing just fine. ”

Maybe if I said it enough, that would make it true. I wanted us to be fine. I wanted more than anything for our horse breeding operation—the same one my mother and grandmother had run so successfully for decades—to be a big moneymaker for our family ranch again.

Of course, if wanting something could make it true, then we never would have lost our parents in the first place.

No amount of want could change the past or bring back the dead.

And, apparently, no amount of want—even when paired with hard work and dedication—could make our horse breeding the success that it used to be.

We were losing ground, badly, and nothing I did seemed to turn the tide.

Which meant, as a result, my brother was keeping a much closer eye on my work than usual.

He used to let me run my side of the business without much interference from him, but lately, that changed.

I’d put in a request to purchase a breeding mare named Sunshine I’d had my eye on and instead of approving the purchase, he’d told me that we needed to talk.

I’d been avoiding him all day, trying to line up my arguments so I’d be ready for the battle to come with him.

“Shannon, you’re doing a great job with Mom and Gran’s legacy, but you’re too stuck in the past, refusing to change anything from how Mom ran it.

You and I both know Mom would’ve kept up with changes in the industry.

Sure, we can’t sink fifty thousand in new equipment, but there’s other stuff we can incorporate to keep up with advances.

Becca’s breeding program is doing well because she stays current while you won’t even consider trying anything new. ”

I chewed the inside of my cheek and didn’t say anything.

I’d learned the business glued to my mom’s hip, and everything I did to carry on her legacy felt like a connection to the woman I missed so much.

Sometimes it felt like my mom was right here beside me as I worked, following through on the same practices and routines we’d completed together so many times.

To change the techniques I’d learned from her would mean…

I shook my head and stared at the ground.

Neither Josh nor I said a word. It was a familiar stalemate, but this time I felt like I had everything to lose.

Becca Johnson had always been a winner, all the way back to grade school.

She’d hit the genetic jackpot lottery, with white-blonde hair and an adorably pert nose that made me feel self-conscious about mine.

We’d had our run-ins throughout school and managed to ignore each other when she would visit on break from college.

I’d genuinely thought that she’d gotten past whatever it was about me that she so actively disliked, but then I’d heard that she was starting her own breeding business.

Her parents had decided they wanted to travel, so they’d turned their ranch over to her along with a very large sum of money, and that was when I realized that Lost Valley Ranch was about to have a formidable competitor.

The woman was cunning in ways that I hated.

She used her wiles to get what she wanted, even if it meant manipulating people.

Not to mention, she was ruthless about undercutting the competition by any means possible.

I had heard from various hands that had passed through Becca’s barn that she cut costs down to the bone, even to the detriment of the horses she was supposed to be caring for.

Rather than investing in the animals, she skimped on their care and feed so that she could sink her money into all the latest and greatest tech.

Anything to make her operation look like the hottest new venture.

One of the hands said her work room looked like the space station’s mission control.

“We both know that Mom put her heart and soul into the business, but think about it,” Josh said gently. “She would’ve wanted the business to grow and adapt with the times. To thrive. And the only way to make that happen now is to work smarter, not harder.”

I started pacing as hot tears sprang to my eyes. Any time I thought about making changes to the breeding business, it made me feel like the tenuous connection I still had to my mom was stretching thinner.

“Give me more time, Josh. I know things are going to turn around. I need a year.” It felt like I was fibbing because I knew no such thing, but there was no way I was going to miss out on buying that damn horse. I needed her.

He sighed. “Shannon, you can’t keep doing the same thing and expect the program to suddenly start earning more money. I’ve given you plenty of time already?—”

“Josh, I’ll look into new procedures, okay?” I interrupted. “I’ll make some changes. I just need more time.”

My voice cracked a little, and Josh flinched, but then set his shoulders, looking resolute.

“I can’t give you a year. If you can’t turn things around by the end of the season, we’re using the extra money for a trail horse instead of the one you want.

I’m sorry, but this family business is a business first, Shan, and I’ve got to invest in the avenues that are actually earning for us.

Our trail ride program is booming. Our horse breeding program…

isn’t. I can’t keep sinking money into the breeding side if it’s not going to turn a profit. ”

“Fine.” I frowned. “But define ‘turn things around.’ What do you need to see from me to prove that the program is on the right track?”

“You don’t actually have to bring in a profit this year, okay?

I’ll make it easier on you. I want to see that you’re phasing out some of the old school techniques, like pasture breeding.

It takes too damn long, and we don’t have the luxury of time these days, not with all of the competition.

And I want you to stop using paper for the intake forms and move to the tablet.

Zoe already has everything all set up for you. All you have to do is start using it.”

My eyes went wide. “But…”

“I know, I know. Mom used paper. But I know from experience that the tablet is way more efficient than using paper first, then transferring to the computer. It’s like you want to create extra work for yourself.”

I hung my head. The forms still had the logo Mom drew in the upper left corner, with her initials hidden in it.

With Zoe’s mad design skills, she’d modernized the logo into something eye-catching for the ranch’s new website, but I was still partial to the homey one my mom had created when she’d married Dad.

“Fine.”

“Good.”

We stared at each other in silence until I picked the fork back up and started cleaning again. I hated that Josh was pushing me to make changes almost as much as I hated admitting that he was right.

“Are you going to be grumpy with me from now on?” he asked.

“Nope,” I said unconvincingly, frowning and shaking my head.

He snorted. “Yeah, right.”

“I need to get to work. I have so much to do now,” I said in a sarcastic voice.

“You know who can help you out?” Josh asked, ignoring my childishness.

“If you say Becca, I’m going to smack you with this thing,” I said, shaking the fork at him.

Josh finally laughed. “No, you goof. Declan . Before he came here to try for Dr. Wilcox’s practice, you know he was working for a big operation in Salt Lake City, right?

They had a major breeding program affiliated with USU’s vet school.

He might have some insights for you on ways to make things more efficient around here. ”

I froze. I’d been trying not to think about Declan, but my mind kept wandering back to him. I still wasn’t comfortable with the idea that he might be back for good. I’d been crushed when he’d rejected me all those years ago, and I still wasn’t past it.

“Huh.”

“I think he’d be a great resource for you,” Josh said, heading out of the barn. “Want me to call him and set something up?”

“No!” I yelped. “I mean, it’s not necessary. I’ll call him if I need him, okay?”

Josh shrugged. “Fine, whatever. Hey, Shannon.”

I stopped cleaning to look at him.

“I want you to be successful, okay? I believe in you, and this program. I know you have what it takes to bring it to the next level. You just need to be open to change.”

I softened to my brother. Sometimes it was hard running a business with him because he had a tendency to want to control everything and had a hard time delegating.

But I knew that he was so invested because he cared about the ranch and about his family.

And in this instance, it felt like he truly was trying to push me out of my comfort zone for a good reason.

“Thanks.” I finally managed a little smile.

“The clock starts now,” he said, destroying any of my warm feelings for him. “And don’t be stubborn; talk to Declan.”

“Whatever,” I said, throwing an empty bucket at him so it landed at his feet. “Leave me alone so I can start making all of my big changes.”

Josh laughed and walked out of the barn into the sunshine.

I paused and leaned on the stall fork, thinking about what it would be like to get Declan’s advice. Maybe we could go out for a quick drink and talk about everything he knew. That sounded innocent enough, right? Surely no harm could come from it.

But then I pictured how I’d feel when I was loosened up with a few drinks.

How hard would it be to keep it professional with him looking so damn fine?

And how foolish would I feel if I accidentally crossed a line, and he had to remind me that we were client and doctor and nothing more?

He’d already turned me down once; I wasn’t about to go there again.

And maybe those high tech, big business breeding practices weren’t right for Lost Valley anyway.

I wanted my business to be profitable, but not at the expense of the health and safety of my horses.

One of our main selling points was how natural we kept the process.

Simple. There was value in tradition, and the people who sought us out were the types that appreciated our attention to detail and care for the horses.

I couldn’t imagine setting up any sort of laboratory for everything that would be required for a big business breeding operation like the one that Declan was used to or what Becca seemed to be doing at her place.

My shoulders slumped. How was I going to make changes when all I wanted to do was preserve the past?